Will Richardson

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What, No Footprint?

June 12, 2008 By Will Richardson

The other day, after reading a tweet from Dean Shareski about being upset that Shareski.com (I think it was) was already registered to someone else, I buzzed over the GoDaddy and snagged “tessrichardson.name” and “tuckerrichardson.name” for the next 10 years.

I’m expecting big things, kids.

On some weird level, I feel like this domain reserving thing is now a part of being a father, of providing as much opportunity as I can for my kids’ futures. And I know that sounds really, really silly to some, but I think I actually mean it. (I don’t think, however, as some are doing, I would pick a name for my child based on the domain being free…oy.) I wistfully imagine the day that Tess goes for a job interview and maybe gets some minor bump by the fact that she can pull up her own domain and start clicking through the wonderful work she’s created, the ways in which she’s been changing the world, and her vision of what’s to come.

A dad can dream, right? (Is Father’s Day this Sunday, btw?)

But I’ve been wondering how long it’s going to take until the digital footprint is an expectation rather than just an exception. Right now, for many folks, no footprint is a good footprint. But I wonder how long it’s going to take for employers or potential mates or whatever else to wonder “what, no footprint?” when they start looking around for one. As in “haven’t you been participating and doing good work that you want to share?” I tweeted out that same question today during a workshop and got some great responses that were literally all over the timeline. (Read from the bottom up.)

What a headshift this is for many of us, however. When I say to teachers “You want your kids to have a footprint” or “You want to have your own footprint” and suggest they embrace these ideas rather than avoid them, I can feel the discomfort. It goes against our best judgment, which, in this case, isn’t really best at all.

But I’ll just say it one more time for the heck of it. My kids are going to be Googled over and over, and when they are, I want tessrichardson.name and tuckerrichardson.name to come up at the top of the list. With any luck, whoever is looking will be impressed.

Filed Under: On My Mind, The Shifts Tagged With: digital_footprint, presence, shifts

Comments

  1. Liana says

    June 12, 2008 at 6:56 pm

    Before I even finished reading your blog I went to godaddy.com to see what’s available for me AND my kids. Given the nature of their names, and mine, we are all available. For now. But your thoughts are compelling. Shall we go ahead and make our footprint now or leave it to chance that one of those random articles, good and bad, will pop up first. Should we share our footprints with our children and grandchildren and model great “printing” skills so they will follow in our “footprints”? We model good manners, hard work, service to others, but how much are we modeling our 21st century skills prowess?

    • Will Richardson says

      June 13, 2008 at 6:48 am

      Liana,
      One of my greatest lessons as a parent was realizing that my kids do as I do much more than do what I say. Modeling is a powerful, powerful teacher. Thanks for the thoughts.

  2. Kevin Prentiss says

    June 12, 2008 at 9:03 pm

    The digital identity is the new first impression. It belongs in the “how to dress” “how to shake hands” category.

    People email their resumes. What happens next? Straight to google.

    You’d like to meet with me? Straight to google.

  3. Laura Deisley/Deacs84 on Twitter says

    June 12, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    My gut reaction here is that you’re onto something. We need to manage our footprints. When I google myself or my kids what do I want to see? Going forward, starting today, in regards to myself I realize I need to establish my home space online–write on my blog regularly and connect with others–in addition to the commenting that I’m doing on other blogs and my Tweets. Just the other day, my 18 year old “found me” online from Italy based on a Google search and access to my Twitter id. Is that what I want to define my digital footprint? Who I am?

    Who am I online? Where have I been, what have I contributed, and what interests me? This is a literacy we need to figure out and model.

    Thanks for the nudge…even if you did give an over the top shout out to the Cubs today.

    • Will Richardson says

      June 13, 2008 at 6:51 am

      Interesting addition of your Twitter account to your comment id here, Laura. There’s another post brewing about how we promote our footprints too. ;0) Thanks for the comment, as always.

  4. Dean Shareski says

    June 12, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    You and Ewan have started something for me. I’ll have more on this later.

    BTW, nice that you’ve sealed your daughter’s fate to stick with her maiden name should she marry. Intentional?

    • Will Richardson says

      June 13, 2008 at 6:51 am

      Tess is not going to get married. She told me so.

  5. beckyfiedler says

    June 12, 2008 at 10:36 pm

    I bought a domain for my niece and nephew at ages 3 and 1 respectively. That was the easy part. I’ve failed to teach my sisters how to update the blogs I set up on the spaces. 🙂 My niece is 6 now and I wonder if she can take the lead on that now.

  6. Bill Fitzgerald says

    June 13, 2008 at 2:38 am

    Hello, Will,

    Just did this for my daughter — I grabbed the .org and the .com, so she can either have a conscience or a business sense 🙂

    Great idea.

    Cheers,

    Bill

  7. Laura Deisley/Deacs84 on Twitter says

    June 13, 2008 at 7:19 am

    Will,

    The addition of Deacs84 came to me for a couple of reasons. First, I haven’t written a blog post in months (that is about to change…) but in those months I’ve micro-blogged on Twitter. Not surprisingly, Deacs84 is how most people that I haven’t met face to face know me. It is the best digital footprint I can point to at the moment.

    Second, Christian Long’s choice of that footprint for me in his meme tag last week woke me up. Is that how I want to be defined? For now, it is the best choice, but it was a swift kick in the —- to consider how I want to be defined. That is what I’ll be doing something about (not just thinking about) this summer.

  8. lhuff says

    June 13, 2008 at 7:59 am

    I guess getting my thirteen year old son his own URL might–should?–be next. Yesterday, we created a blog (iTanner) for him. He’d love some comments! He worked ten straight hours–no joke. I’ve never seen him so excited. He kept asking me, so how do I get people to read my blog. I’m trying to explain to him that he has to now start working on the read/think/write part–to pen quality pieces people will want to read…and, of course, I’ll have to lead him through the other strategies: entering conversations on other blogs for one.

    This experience with him has given me an idea with my own students. What if I spent the first week of school (having it this summer would have been even better) in “blog camp”? Students could learn the technical part: use cameras and create their own nameplates, select and set-up their widgets, embed videos and photos…then we could focus on the so-how-do-we-get-people-to-read-your-blog part–the reading/writing connection–and begin bloggging.

  9. Jennifer Wagner says

    June 13, 2008 at 10:15 am

    Smiles — I am surprised it took you so long to get these!! 🙂 But so glad you blogged about it.

    Our graduation present for out 8th graders, 3 years ago, was their own domain name. (With parent approval — and we had 100$ okays about it!)

    My gifts for friends who are having babies is a domain name and an online baby announcement.

    Some people get it — some people don’t.

    But 20 years from now, (perhaps a lot sooner) a personalized online presence/URL will be not just expected, but I think a given.

    Sighs — JLWagner and JenniferWagner are already taken though. 🙂

    Jen

  10. Roberta Taylor says

    June 13, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    We bought our kids .name domains a year ago, when they were 12 and 13. Now if you google my 14 year old daughter’s name, every hit on the first page is for her, and all are showcasing her talents- music she has written, websites she has built etc… This is because she has been deliberate about this, and I couldn’t be prouder.

    The neat thing is how natural all of this seems to come to her- not that parental guidance hasn’t been a part of it, but that she just assumes that she will have an online presence, and grasped so quickly that it would be better if she were in control of that rather than leaving it to chance.

  11. Scott McLeod says

    June 14, 2008 at 12:12 am

    I’m with you, Will. Bought .net domains for everyone in my immediate family a year ago. $7 per domain per year keeps ’em current. One of the best buys I’ll probably ever make…

  12. Rodd Lucier says

    June 15, 2008 at 9:08 am

    Beyond family members, the need for an online identity is increasing in importance. My tip for all educators: “Take Ownership of Your Identity” http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2008/05/take-ownership-of-your-identity.html

  13. Kern Kelley says

    June 15, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    Hi Will,
    We bought the domain names of every graduate in our district and gave it to them as their their senior gift. It’s reserved for one year at which time they can purchase it, transfer the address or let it lapse, it’s up to them. The equivalent of their 21st century business card that they now need to be active managers of. You can see the information that the students were given, here:

    http://thetechcurve.blogspot.com/2008/06/whats-in-name.html

  14. Jeff says

    June 15, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    I was at a BBQ at a friend’s house a few weeks ago. One of her roommates was discussing a guy she had just gone out on a date with. The short version of the conversation was that she enjoyed the date, but wasn’t so sure about the guy because when she googled him, nothing came up. Clearly he wasn’t interesting, because the footprint you mention wasn’t there. Apparently some people have already reached the point where no online presence means you’re not worth their time.

  15. Ewan McIntosh says

    June 16, 2008 at 11:12 am

    Hey Will, you *really* need to start reading those posts from me in your iGoogle 😉 Within about 30 minutes of Catriona’s birth I had her domain name bought by a pal, Mark Pentleton.

    The real scares are already happening, as the two quite infamous examples in this blog post show:
    http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2008/06/buy-your-domain.html

    Reputation counts for everything these days, more than certificates at school, even, and having your name spiked by someone else means a major part of your credibility is swallowed up in one fell swoop.

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